The Cross-Wits
Two contestants with the help of their two celebrity partners played crosswords for cash & prizes. Rules Main Game Two teams of three (consisting of two celebrities & one contestant), competed in a game solving crossword puzzles in which the words in the puzzle were clues to a person, place or thing The subject of the master puzzle was given at the beginning of each round. The contestant captain chose which position in the crossword puzzle to identify, and which star to play that position. A crossword clue to that word was then read. If the star couldn't answer the clue within seven seconds, the contestant could answer. However, if neither the celebrity nor the contestant answered correctly, control passed to the opposing team. Each time the team in control guessed the word correctly, the team would earn points times the number of letters in the answer, and kept control. If at anytime the contestant knew the solution to the master puzzle, he/she can choose to solve it. Solving the master puzzle earned bonus points (ten times the letter value), and won the round. The team with the most points after three puzzles or when time was called won the game, and moved on to the Crossfire round. 70s Version Each correct answer awarded 10 points per letter in the word (e.g., if the word was "scientist", correctly solving the word would be worth 90 points). After correctly solving a word the team could select another word or attempt to solve the master puzzle. Only the civilian contestant could give the solution to the master puzzle, although the team was allowed a "seven-second conference" before the contestant was required to respond. The team who correctly solved the master puzzle earned an additional 100 points. The trailing team began each subsequent round. Contestants were later awarded a prize for solving the puzzle, in addition to the 100 points. If a puzzle was solved on the first clue in any round, the contestant won a new car. This was later changed to only awarding a car during the second round each day and with no conference between the celebrities and contestant, although the contestant was still given five seconds to ponder before giving their response. The team who solved the puzzle in the first round also began the second round when the rules changed to only offer a car in the second round; this change was made so that a team did not intentionally lose the first round in order to have a better shot at the car. The game continued for an unmentioned time limit, and the contestant with the most points when time expired won the game. By the final season, a captain whose team scored 1,000 points also won $1,000. This version was taped before the era of computerized graphics and featured a manually-operated game board that used back-lit tiles that illuminated to show the letters in each word. Hostess Fiala would use a long pointer to indicate the position of each word on the board, as the numbers on the squares were too small to be seen by home viewers. 80s Version David Sparks hosted this version because Jack Clark was busy announcing for the mega hit Wheel of Fortune. Unlike the 1975 version, this version's game board was completely computer generated. In the first two rounds each correct answer was worth 5 points a letter, and solving the puzzle was worth 50 points more, while the last round had correct answers & the master puzzle be the same value as the original. At some point in the series the second round offered 10 points a letter and 100 points for solving the puzzle; and in the third puzzle, the points increased to 20 points a letter and 200 points for solving the puzzle. At another point in the series all rounds offered 5 points a letter and 50 points for solving the puzzle. There was also a "Mystery Word" in one round; and correctly guessing that word won a prize in addition to the points. The winner of the game gets $250. Cross-Fire In the Crossfire round, the winning contestant & the celebrity of his/her choosing had 60 seconds to solve 10 clues. None of the words in the Crossfire puzzle were clues to the master puzzle. Solving less than 10 clues won modest prizes, but solving all 10 won a grand prize. 70's Version In the Cross-Fire round, the winning contestant had a choice of one of the two celebrities he/she was partnered with to play this round with. During this round, the winning contestant won increasingly valuable prizes for each word guessed, and completing the entire Cross-Fire puzzle was usually worth a car, but sometimes a trip or a fur coat. 80's Version In the Cross-Fire round, the winning contestant had a choice of all four celebrities to play this round with. In this round, the winning contestant won a consolation prize if he/she didn't complete the puzzle, and completing the entire Cross-Fire puzzle won a trip, and the chance to win a car. The Car Round In the Car Round, the three remaining celebrities each held box containing the names of three cars, one in each box. The winning contestant selected which car to play for, then chose the celebrity he/she thought had that chosen car. If the player was right, the car was his/hers. The trip was not at risk, win or lose. For a time, all four celebrities played the car round, and a corresponding fourth box was added to the mix; if chosen, it was worth $1,000 to the contestant. For the first two taped episodes, the car round was staged differently: rather than holding boxes containing the names of the three cars offered, the celebrities held the keys to each of the three cars. After choosing a celebrity, that celebrity attempted to open the chosen car with his/her key. Inventor Jerry Payne Music 1975 - Ron Kaye, Buddy Kaye, Phillip Springer (according to "The Encyclopedia Of TV Game Shows, 3rd Edition" (1998), by David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, & Fred Wostbrock) 1986 - Andrew Belling Links Rules for Crosswits @ Loogslair.net Josh Rebich's Crosswits Rule Page {C}James Vipond's The All-New Crosswits Page YouTube Video Clips of an episode of The Cross-Wits Category:Crosswords Category:Puzzle